Silvern (The Gilded Series) (17 page)

We break away from the path and trudge through the forest until we come back to the rock wall on the back side of the waterfall. Just like the pavilion, this wall is engraved with Chinese characters.

My fingers itch for my bow. If I had that, I’d feel safer. There are too many strange creatures out here to be wandering around with no weapon, but there’s no way North Korean security would’ve allowed it.

Kang-dae points to the writing on the wall. “What do you think?” he asks Marc.

Marc’s face scrunches up in concentration. He eases up to the rock and starts muttering softly.

“What does it say?” I ask.

“Like the one out front, this rock has a hidden language beneath the red symbols,” Marc says. “The hidden words say, ‘For the mortal with an immortal heart.’”

“Why does everything have to be so cryptic?”

“I believe it means if you’re mortal, but strong of heart,” Marc says, “you can go inside.”

“Right,” Kang-dae says. “But a mere mortal couldn’t read this. So actually it’s a trick offer.”

I run my hands over the red inscription, but I’m unable to see the one Marc has read except that the letters appear to almost shimmer. Is it a good or bad sign that I can see hints of the Spirit World language? I think about how the dragons were arguing about what I am in their cave. What had they meant?

My worries are forgotten when I spot a jagged crevice that splits the rock face open just wide enough for a human to squeeze through. “Do you think this is an entrance?” I ask, pushing away the vines to get to the crack.

“Maybe,” Marc says. “Let’s check it out.”

We both move to enter, but Kang-dae hangs back. “I’ll stay and keep guard. Between those blasted weasels and wretched dragons, I believe I’ve had enough for one day.”

“Of course.” I study him as he glances around furtively. There’s something about him that’s off, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. “We’ll check it out and be back soon.”

I have to wedge myself through the crack while Marc slides in sideways, nearly getting caught twice. Finally, I stumble through an opening where I’m assaulted by stale, damp air. The pale stream of sunlight does little to illuminate the place. Marc pulls two flashlights from his backpack, which we snap on. It appears we’ve entered a tunnel, slick with water and moss. It rounds up ahead and then stretches on for an eternity.

“What do you think?” I ask Marc.

“I think your grandfather said we shouldn’t do anything on our own. We shouldn’t rush into this.”

“We can’t stop now. I think we’re onto something here. And my back is feeling better,” I lie. “You were right. We don’t know when some creature from the Spirit World will try to stop us. Besides, there’s something about this place that feels almost magical. It’s the same feeling I get when I enter Haemosu’s world. I think this is the right place.”

A surge of power seeps into my pores like ice water flooding my veins. If only it would sharpen my vision, too.

“All right,” Marc says grimly. “Let’s make sure we stay close together.”

We begin our shuffle down the tunnel, and I hope the dragons haven’t sensed our presence yet. My back muscles begin to loosen with each step I take. A groaning sound echoes through the tunnel. I freeze and listen, waiting.

“Did you hear that?” I whisper to Marc, clutching his arm.

“We should turn back.” He jerks his chin ahead, his eyes wide.

“Yeah. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.”

The noise ricochets through the passageway, sounding like stones rubbing against one another. Dark shadows flitter across the beam of my flashlight. I whip my light to follow them, but they’ve vanished. I steel my nerves, telling myself I’m mentally strong enough to face anything after dealing with Haemosu. I’m not sure if this tunnel is playing tricks on my eyes or if something really is stalking us.

Slowly, we turn around. Above, something moves, skittering across the ceiling. I swing my flashlight to follow the sound. The dark shape freezes, as if hoping it won’t be seen, but as my light engulfs its form, my heart skids to a halt. It reminds me of a gorilla, but the skin is a shiny black shell, like a cockroach.

The head cocks sideways, stretching to gaze down at us. Neon-like eyes glow in my flashlight’s beam. It opens its jaw, revealing sharp teeth and slime drooling from a flicking tongue. A horrible screech erupts from its mouth and cuts through the tunnel. I scream, and Marc grabs my wrist and drags me down the tunnel, back the way we came. I stagger through the heaving darkness until we collide into a wall. My hands swipe over the rough stone surface, desperate for a crack or opening.

“This wall wasn’t here before, was it?” I ask, flashing my light around.

“Nope.” Marc yanks me again, pulling me toward him this time, as the creature on the ceiling leaps down and crashes into the space where I just stood. We dash off deeper into the tunnel, listening to the angry cry of the creature scuffling behind us. I let go of Marc’s hands and pump my arms, willing my body to go faster through this endless tunnel.

The skittering sound magnifies, growing louder. There are more of them, I realize. Lots more. Chasing, hunting, stalking us. The floor grows rugged, scattered with boulders and stalagmites that seem to almost have claws themselves. I stumble and trip. My pants tear, and my skin slickens with blood.

Something swipes at my back, snagging my shirt. I dive ahead faster, not caring about the sound of my shirt tearing, and bite back a scream. And that’s when I find Marc’s flashlight, lying abandoned on the ground. I snatch it up, panning the light across the stone walls. Something shudders to my right. I whip the light in the direction of the sound. A creature disappears into a fissure, which seals before my eyes.

“Marc!” I scream.

Everything has vanished. Marc. The creatures. The tunnel lies empty.

My heart thumps.

My throat dries up.

“Marc!” I yell, and stagger in a circle, straining against the gloom and swallowing back the terror of losing Marc.

Are they at this very moment ripping him to shreds?

I hurtle to the wall, clawing at its surface, hoping to somehow find him. It’s useless. The wall is smooth; all signs of a crack have faded. I swipe the area around me with my flashlight and realize that the passageway turns. It wasn’t that way before. I’m sure we ran straight. What is happening? It’s as if this place is alive, with walls that have eyes and ears.

The rumbling vibrates the tunnels again. Like a falling gate, a wall begins to drop from the ceiling. If I don’t move, I’ll be trapped between two partitions, a prisoner in this place.

Bursting into a sprint, I dive through the small crack between the plummeting wall and the ground. I land hard, rolling across the ground just as the divider lands with a boom onto the path, pelting me with a spray of dust and pebbles.

“Marc!” I scream again, hoping somehow he will hear me.

But I’m left with nothing but grinding walls and deathly shadows.

I swing my flashlight around, trying to determine which way to run. I bite my lip in an attempt to stay calm and break into a sprint in the only way left to go. Before me, walls slide into the passageway I’m running through, closing me in.

Somehow I squeeze through one opening before another wall slams shut behind me, but as I push my legs to run faster, I know there’s no way I’ll be able to sprint fast enough to get through all of the closing walls. It’s only a matter of time before I’m trapped in here forever.

The path before me wavers, and I lurch, dizziness washing over me. A barrier appears before my eyes. I’m blocked in. A chill slithers up my spine. The dragons must know I’m here. Or maybe this is the magic set in place to protect the orb.

My only consolation is that the gorilla-bug creatures have disappeared. But that’s not really a consolation at all. They could be gnawing away at Marc’s body for lunch. Marc might be in pain right now. I shove the back of my hand into my mouth to stifle a cry.

But falling to pieces isn’t going to solve anything. I think about what Komo would want me to do in this situation.

Listen and wait.

Closing my eyes, I quiet myself, straining my ears intently until I can hear my heart thumping against my rib cage faster than a hummingbird’s. The groaning sound fades. Water drips from somewhere in the distance. And then I hear it. Pounding footsteps in a rhythmic
thump, thump, thump
.

My eyes pop open. This isn’t the sound of two feet running, but four. Something is coming for me. And fast.

The wall to my left groans and rumbles, drawing back inch by inch. I click off my flashlight and scuffle backward until my back presses against the cold, clammy wall.

I wait, shivering, until the divider stops moving, buried into the labyrinth of walls. I hold my flashlight before me as a weapon. Maybe I can switch it on and blind whatever hunts me.

Something shuffles over the rocks about twenty yards away. Unable to wait any longer, I snap on my flashlight and shine it in the direction of the noise. The beam catches a black form, and orange eyes glint in the light. It’s a pale and hairless beast, smoke spitting from piglike nostrils. It paws at the ground and bolts into the air, barreling toward me. Tossing aside my flashlight, I charge toward the beast at full sprint.

Right before we meet, I leap into the air and smack my foot into the creature’s snout, flipping backward and landing on the other side of the tunnel.

A growl cuts the silence, and in the rolling light of the flashlight, I spot massive front teeth jutting out of the creature’s mouth while saliva flings across the tunnel. I smack it hard, but the creature only tosses its head and swings around to face me with an earsplitting roar, foam spewing from its jaws. It attacks again. I leap, double-kick, and spin away, landing in a crouch back on the ground.

I don’t think I can beat this creature.

My head is spinning trying to decide which way to go next when the massive black form bounds across the space between us. I fake left, grab the flashlight, and race to the stone wall. I use the momentum of my run to kick off the wall and roll through the air and over the beast. The moment my feet touch the ground, I’m sprinting again. I have no idea where I’m going, but hopefully I can get away.

My arms are pumping. I careen around a bend, smashing myself into a wall. The beast’s breath is hot against my neck. Another wall rises before me. Instead of retreating, I bolt to it, running up the wall and propelling myself into a backward flip, kicking at the beast’s snout once again. It growls in anger. I land and kick its rear before it even turns.

The beast flies through the air, crashing against the wall. I shift back and forth on the balls of my feet, my fists at the ready in front of my chest. Still, the creature remains motionless. I stagger over to its body and shine my light into the beast’s beady orange eyes. It whimpers.

I’ve defeated it, but that hasn’t changed my situation. A quick scan tells me I’m still trapped in a section of the tunnel, just now I’m trapped with a stinking, wretched beast.

“Where’s Marc?” I demand from the creature. “What have you done with him?”

I don’t expect it to respond, but I kick it when it doesn’t answer. The creature blinks once and then wheezes a final breath. The orange fades from its eyes, replaced with endless dark pools.

I step back.

The tunnel groans and trembles once again, resisting and yet stretching all at the same time. The wall to my left shivers, and the stone peels back to reveal a massive double door. The Nine Dragons and Kuryong Falls are engraved on each arched door. A silver knocker with the face of a tiger in its center glints in my shadow.

I tread toward the doors tentatively. My boots click on the stone floor. The air changes, as if a window somewhere has opened, allowing for a soft breeze to explore this stench-filled warren. The noise from the walls and the beast and even the pounding of my heart have washed away. All that’s left is myself, the door, and the decision I’m about to make.

My fingers touch the knocker, and the doors swing open into a wide room. The walls are lined with vibrant-green vines, twisting and tangling around each other in a solid mass. In the center of the room rests a golden pedestal in the shape of a lotus flower. A white glow emanates from its core, so bright against the darkness of the tunnels that I have to shield my eyes from its radiance.

I tread inside, my arms at my sides, but every muscle is tense, ready to react to an attack. This glow must be from the White Tiger orb. The coloring reminds me of the image that was shown to me in the Guardians of Shinshi’s secret chambers. A mist spills off the pedestal and trails down to the floor, so as I grow closer, it almost appears as if I’m walking on clouds.

Warnings buzz through my mind to check the room for traps or guards, but I can’t stop my feet from stepping closer and closer to the orb. I’m utterly drawn to its power.

Something shifts inside the room, and I drag my eyes away from the glow. To do so tears at my insides. But when I do, I see them. The nine dragons, lined up in a perfect row. Waiting. Staring at me with eyes that make me feel as if I’m drowning in depthless pools of water.

Foolish child.

Insolent.

“Where’s Marc?” I ask. “What have you done with him?”

Safe for the time being.

“He hasn’t done you wrong,” I say. “Release him.”

Such demands! You do not know the power you are dealing with.

I take a step closer to the orb, watching their faces for a reaction. “You’re right,” I tell them. “I don’t. But I do know that because one of the other orbs was in the wrong hands, my ancestors were captured and held prisoners for over a thousand years. I can’t let that happen again. I can’t risk it.”

Risky. Yes, that is what you are. Risky.

“That’s exactly the opposite of what I’m saying. Palk agreed with me when I told him my plan.” I clench my fist as I take another step toward the pedestal. As I draw closer to the orb, heat radiates from it. A mist snakes over to where I stand and curls up my legs. I feel the pulse of the dragons’ power.

The dragons are speaking once again, but I can’t be bothered by their prattle because the orb is so beautiful, so perfect. Now that my eyes have adjusted to the shift in light, I can see how it rests as a giant egg nestled inside the golden flower.

“So you’re just going to let me take the orb?” I ask the dragons. This seems too easy.

You defeated the curse.

“The curse?”

The dragons speak in unison as if reciting an old tale:

To those who tread between the worlds,

Their hands to grasp the power of the orb.

To the one who can span,

The worlds of spirit and of man.

The power to find both riches and loss,

Will be given to the one who can reach across.

“Worlds of spirit and of man?”

This sacred hall rests between the Spirit World and the human world. Those who are from either cannot enter. Only those with a connection to both.

The black dragon snaps his wings.
Every lock comes with a key. We had not expected the key to find the lock.

“I can’t keep track of what you think I am. Childish, risky, a key.”

The black dragon growls from deep within its throat. I decide to change the subject.

“So that is why Marc was able to enter? Because he has links to both worlds, like I do?”

Yes. But his connection was not strong enough to find a way out.

Yet beware!

I jump at the intensity of their words.

The orb is powerful. The weak of heart cannot bear the burden.

I nod, understanding. The last time I touched an orb, I allowed it to suck all the life out of me, to transfer it to Komo. They are powerful objects and not something to take lightly.

The bearer becomes the keeper of the orb, until willingly giving it to another. And yet, to let it go will tear at the threads of a soul.

I think back to when I gave up Haemosu’s orb and how easy that had been. This can’t be very different. In reverence, I walk up the steps that lead to the top of the flower. I reach my hand out to grab it, but my fingers freeze halfway. Licking my dry lips, I shove my doubts aside and grasp the orb between both hands.

A burning sensation cuts into my palms and trails through my entire body. But I don’t let go. In fact, I clutch the orb tighter.

“Please,” I whisper to it. “I need you to stay safe with me so I can return you to where you belong.”

A beam of silver flashes out of the orb and bursts above me. It illuminates the room, drenching my body in sparkling silver rain. I look back down at the orb cupped in my palms: my arms and then my entire body are flooded with the most soothing warmth. The orb begins to spin until it feels as if I’m twirling around with it. The world twists and pulls until I’m sucked into a vortex. A ringing clamors through my ears until it suddenly washes away, leaving only silence.

I’m standing in what appears to be a grove. Tendrils of vines cluster about me smelling like fresh-cut grass. Mist curls at my feet and trails up tree trunks, weaving through the branches. Below the vines, grass glistens like emeralds beneath my feet, and through the tree boughs stars twinkle within an abyss of darkness. It’s as if this grove is suspended in space.

A growl from the bushes attracts my attention, but instead of running away, I step closer. The leaves draw back of their own accord, bringing me face-to-face with the White Tiger. I draw in a deep breath, my body chilling as his glacial-blue eyes assess me.

Standing there, I hang my head, knowing I fall short of the caliber of warrior who should be facing the White Tiger. He’s twice as tall as any tiger I’ve seen in a zoo, and his skin glows brighter than the moon on a cloudless night.

“Who are you to speak to me?” the tiger asks.

I open my mouth, but I’m in such awe, nothing comes out. I rub my hands against my sides and try again. “I am Jae Hwa, bearer of the Blue Dragon bow. I saved my family from Haemosu’s curse.”

The tiger cocks his head to the side and then shakes it. “You stand before me, yet you know nothing of the Korea of your ancestors. You know not what my people have suffered: the pain of loved ones ripped from your arms, of watching your city crumble at your feet until nothing,
nothing
is left standing. To have your language, even your name, stripped from you. You are nothing but a child.”

A
child
? I swallow hard at his words. An angry pressure builds up against my chest. “You’re right. I’m nothing. But while others fled, I stood up to the monster of Haemosu, and now once again I must protect my family. My
komo
is lost and I must find her. And Kud, who seeks your orb, has threatened my family if I don’t bring it to him.”

The White Tiger roars. I stumble backward and fall to my knees.

“How dare you seek me and speak the dark lord’s name?”

“Wait!” I scream over the howling winds, and I hold up my hands. “Palk tasked me to return the orb to the Heavenly Chest before Kud finds it. This is why I came.”

The winds still, and he begins to tread in a circle round me. “Perhaps you believe you have felt pain and loss, but you have not. Yet.” He stops and stares at me, and as he does, it’s hard to breathe, as if I’m drowning in icy water. “But you will suffer. You will know true pain.”

I clutch at the glistening grass to gain my bearings. “What do you mean?”

“It will be hard. Maybe impossible. But I will be there with you. Even in death.”

Confused, I open my mouth to argue, but it’s too late. My body yanks backward through time and space. The wind rushes through my ears, and stars gather around me.

And then I’m back in the cave, collapsed on the floor, the orb clutched in my palm. I lift my head; it still pounds like I’d smashed it into the ground. Meanwhile, the orb shrinks smaller and smaller until it’s no bigger than a half-dollar.

I gasp in awe. What just happened? Did I ruin it somehow?

The orb has found you sufficient. You are now its keeper.

Wrapping my fingers around the stone, I look up at the nine dragons. “Thank you. I promise to return it to the Heavenly Chest.” But then the words of the White Tiger tumble through my mind, and all I can focus on are his last words.
Even in death.

They bow their heads and I bow back. Yet I sense their frustration is still there. They must be irritated that this small, risky intruder now holds the prized treasure that they’ve been guarding for a thousand years.

“Please,” I say. “Can you show me the way out?”

No. This is your task, not ours. And now, with the orb passing into another’s hands, our mission is complete. Our time here is finished.

They vanish in a funneling swirl of colors and a breath of wind, leaving a strange void as if they had been an essential part of this sacred room. I peek at the orb in my hand, so oddly small compared to its original size. I rub my fingers over it, smooth and warm, and clench it tight in my palm, hoping it will find me a way out of this cavernous maze.

I retrace my steps. I don’t know what to do or where to go, but I need to find Marc. Suddenly I remember Haraboji’s words about not touching the orb. But it hardly seems dangerous. And it’s supposed to seek out whatever those who hold it wish for. All I can think about is Marc and if he’s okay.

I lift the white stone and whisper Marc’s name into it. A flash of light swirls through the core of the orb. It vibrates ever so slightly in my palm and then nothing. I keep staring at the stone, waiting. Nothing happens.

Right.
Maybe the Council had the legend all wrong. Knowing my luck, I probably just sent some horrible creature to search for and kill Marc. I take off through the double doors, using the orb to light my way, and head down the corridor at a slight jog. The beast I fought earlier is nowhere to be found, and I wonder if that too was a part of the orb’s protection.

The tunnel appears to have opened up ahead of me in a wide yawn.

“Marc!” I yell as I run. My voice skitters off the walls, making it sound as if a hundred of me are calling.

After I’ve run for what seems like forever, I spy a light in the distance. I race to it, only to find my flashlight on the ground. Had I really dropped it this far away? I shrug, pick it up, and take off again. I’m not sure how long I run, but suddenly I get this urge to stop, as if something is tugging at my insides, telling me Marc is close.

Pivoting in a circle, I don’t see him anywhere. The stone walls run forever on either side, and I’ve no clue where the crevice we first entered through could be. These walls have moved so many times I wonder if I’ll ever reach the outside world again.

The light from the orb shifts until it creates a beam shining on the rock wall to my right. Is the orb showing me the way? Even if I’m not supposed to touch the stone, it hasn’t hurt me yet. Besides, what would it matter if Marc and I were going to die lost in this maze anyway?

It’s then I spy a small crevice, and through the new opening, another tunnel stretches before me. I step through it and take off running until that same urge compels me to stop and readjust my course. I lose track of how many times I do this, but all the while, I keep calling out Marc’s name, hoping I’m getting closer rather than lost in this madness of a maze.

“Jae!” Marc’s voice finally responds to one of my calls.

I freeze, wanting to cry, wanting to scream.

“Marc!” I focus on where his voice came from and sprint in that direction until I find him lying on the ground, bound in a strange type of rope.

“Jae,” Marc says. “Thank God you’re alive.”

“I found the orb, and it helped me find you.” I slip the orb into the pouch Grandfather gave me and start tearing away at his awful bindings. The ropes are sticky and slimy. “What is all this stuff? It’s repulsive. What happened to you? You just disappeared.”

“Those bug things hauled me here and bound me up in this weblike stuff.” He screws up his face.

Once he’s free, we cling to each other. All I can think about is how solid and sure he feels with his arms wrapped around me.

“Jae,” he whispers. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“This place is well guarded.” I laugh, but it comes out more like a shaky squawk. I pull him closer, wishing I could protect him from all of this. Yet at the same time, I think about the dragons’ words. How only those who have a connection to both the Spirit World and the human world may enter. Maybe whatever Haemosu did to Marc had a greater effect on him than we ever realized.

“Look,” I say, finally breaking apart.

I open the pouch and the orb glows bright, illuminating our faces. It’s just the two of us, cocooned in a shimmery whiteness, warmth pulsing as the air before an electric storm. I can’t speak, afraid of shattering this sacred moment.

“You found it.” He breathes out a long breath. “I wanted to believe it was here, but I didn’t know if it would really happen.” He closes my hand around the orb. “Be careful.”